Star Illini sprinters transfer to Texas

Wednesday

The hiring of Tonja Buford-Bailey to be the associate head coach to Mario Sategna of the Longhorns’ newly combined men’s and women’s track team is paying immediate dividends.

Two star sprinters from Buford-Bailey’s former University of Illinois team will transfer to Texas, a UT spokesperson confirmed Tuesday night. They are Ashley Spencer, a two-time world junior champion in the 400 meters and a two-time NCAA outdoor champ in the same event, and Morolake Akinosum, who recently won the USA junior championships in the 100-meter dash.

The Longhorns are expected to officially announce the duo’s transfer Wednesday. Both will be eligible immediately.

Spencer revealed her intentions by posting a picture of herself on Twitter wearing a burnt-orange Longhorns visor and tweeting "I’m officially a Texas Longhorn!!!!! Hook’em."

Spencer, the reigning Big Ten outdoor track athlete of the year, will be a junior in eligibility. The Indianapolis native ran a career-best and school-record time of 50.28 seconds to claim her second NCAA 400 crown. She then placed third in the 400 at the USA championships with a 50.58 to qualify for the World Championships in August.

She is a 12-time Big Ten indoor and outdoor champion — four each in the 200 and 400 open races, and four times as a member of the Illini’s 1,600-meter relay.

Akinosum, who’ll be a sophomore, won the USA junior 100 in a time of 11.64 seconds. A native of Aurora, Ill., she was named the Big Ten indoor freshman of the year after winning the 60-meter dash and running on the Illini’s first-place 1,600 relay.

Her best time in the 100 meters is 11.29 recorded at the Texas Relays in March. Akinosum also has a best of 23.26 in the 200.

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